Campaign for secular education

Join our campaign for an inclusive and secular education system

We campaign for an inclusive and secular education system – one which equally respects the rights and freedoms of pupils of all backgrounds. From faith schools to compulsory worship, education is where a lack of secularism impinges most on the lives of British citizens.

We don't think schools should be organised around religious identities or used to promote religious worldviews. A third of English and Welsh schools are faith schools. Scottish and Northern Irish schools are still divided on sectarian lines, and religion is still deeply ingrained across the UK's education systems. Academies and 'free schools' have only increased the opportunities for religious groups to gain control of schools.

Our secular approach to education would see faith schools phased out and compulsory worship abolished to ensure that all publicly funded schools are equally welcoming to all children, regardless of their religious or nonreligious backgrounds.

Parents, pupils, and teachers: need advice?

Education is an area where religious privilege intrudes on many people's rights. A lot of our casework is responding to people who need advice. In addition to the information on our campaigns pages, please feel free to:

Secular Education Forum

The Secular Education Forum (SEF) provides expert and professional advice and opinion to the NSS on issues related to education and provides a forum for those with expertise in the intersection of education and secularism.

After two students pushed the Welsh government for a response to a petition to remove schools' obligation to hold acts of worship, Stephen Evans says pupils should be free to opt out of religious practices...

Lee Harris didn't choose a faith school for his children. But when he challenged evangelism at his local school, he learnt that community school status doesn't necessarily prevent religion from being imposed...

We often hear that faith schools improve choice. But an NSS report shows that this narrative mischaracterises the challenges facing families and public education's role in a diverse society, says Alastair...

The Church of England's pretence that 'its' schools aren't faith schools is a dishonest attempt to avoid association with the unpopularity of faith-based schooling, and at odds with their actual policy,...

Sometimes concerns regarding religious interference in education can be easily resolved, simply through clear and polite conversations with the school. A parent shares her recent experiences working together...